Judge and gavel

PREMISES LIABILITY

MONROE CIRCUIT COURT

A jury rejected a claim for damages by a woman who fractured an ankle in a fall at a Key West luxury resort.

Cheryl Mertz, then 61, visited the Sunset Key Cottages resort at Sunset Key just off Key West on June 2, 2015.

Mertz claimed she stepped off a path to avoid a 2-foot-high pile of palm fronds and inadvertently stepped into a hidden hole in the grass. She sued the resort, alleging negligent maintenance.

The defense contended the property was reasonably maintained and the hole could not have been easily detected. The jury found for the defense.

Case: Mertz v. Tannex Development

Case No.: CAK16991

Plaintiffs attorneys: Adam T. Rose and Thomas B. Scolaro, Leesfield Scolaro, Miami

Defense attorneys: William M. Bromley and Jason A. Glusman, Wicker Smith O'Hara McCoy & Ford, Fort Lauderdale, and Ginny Stones, Oropeza Stones & Cardenas, Key West